Katniss Versus Cupid
by BalletBaby5
Summary: A Valentine's Day themed Danny/Mindy moment.


_Disclaimer: I would love to take credit for owning the Mindy Project, but sadly all of that credit is due elsewhere._

If there was one holiday that Danny Castellano couldn't stand, it was Valentine's Day. The insane cash grab aside, the only purpose it served was to allow already smug people in relationships to take over every nook and cranny of New York City with their smugness. Every year he spent the day trying to keep his head down to avoid punching almost every person he came into contact with. Even when he was married, there was nothing he enjoyed about the day. And once the marriage was over, he found himself questioning the idea of love even more than he already had. So the day made no sense to him and he refused to put up with it. There was only one person that he tolerated on Valentine's Day. The only person who he was confident truly believed in the existence of love. Mindy.

At the start of the week she had flounced into the office with a box full of pink and red decorations, which he and Jeremy had quickly vetoed, and she proceeded to hang anyway.

"Stop being Grinches you two!" she had shouted at them from atop her chair. Betsy stood below her, passing her pieces of scotch tape to hang the heart banner.

"The Grinch is a Christmas figure Mindy," Jeremy replied, as he stood watching her with his arms crossed.

"Fine!" she huffed. "Stop being a…a…Morgan, what's the Valentine's equivalent of a Grinch?"

"A Katniss!" Morgan offered from behind the reception desk.

"Yeah! Wait, what?" Mindy whipped around in surprise, dropping the banner.

"Well, Cupid flies so I was trying to think of something that could shoot him down and you know, Katniss has pretty good aim. Plus, she's kind of prickly," he shrugged.

Peter leaned on the desk next to Morgan and took a bite out of his "breakfast twizzler", as he liked to call it.

"I'm going to have to agree on this one. While J-Law is a stone cold fox and I would 100% tap that ass," he paused briefly to high five Jeremy. "Katniss is one cold biatch."

"Guys, Katniss is a beautiful and strong warrior woman, who deeply loves Peeta while also secretly harboring feelings for her best friend Gale. It is a powerful and tragic love story," She explained in her usual tone that signaled she was slipping into the romanticized version of the world in her head.

"…OR…Cupid Killer," Morgan added, receiving a hum of approval from Jeremy and Peter.

"Danny! Will you help me here!" Mindy pivoted on her chair and shot him a pleading look.

"Not getting involved. You know our Valentine's agreement, I let you do what you want as long as it doesn't in any way include me," he stated, not even looking up from the file he was poring over. He had given up trying to fight her on her need to celebrate pretty much everything.

"Oh, don't listen to them Dr. L!" Betsy patted her arm and stuck out her tongue at Jeremy. "They're just jealous."

Danny retreated to his office after that, tuning out the bickering that continued. Something told him that Mindy won, because when he resurfaced an hour later, the decorations had all been hung and the office was an eye sore of red and pink hearts.

And that was just Monday. As the week progressed, there were heart shaped cookies in the break room, Valentine's trivia sheets slipped under their doors, rose petals scattered around the floor of the office. That last one had been quickly removed after Jeremy claimed that it was against health and safety regulations.

When Friday arrived, he practically expected her to be wheeled into the office inside a heart shaped cake, where she would pop out and serenade them all with a version of "My Funny Valentine" or something sung equally off-key. But there was nothing. Not even a card. The day passed quietly, and it wasn't until Betsy knocked to tell him that she and Tamra were leaving for the day, that he became worried.

"Hey Bets," he called and she poked her head back into his office. "Mindy tell you what her big plans were that she took the day off for?"

Betsy looked confused. "Dr. Castellano, she came in at 9 and asked not to be disturbed. I thought you knew that."

"Oh, yeah I did," he shook his head, trying to mask his surprise. "Must have slipped my mind."

He was out of his chair as soon as he heard the door to the office close. He couldn't understand how the day had passed like this if she had been here the whole time. The waiting room was dark, but he could see the glow of the light in her office. He hesitated before knocking softly.

"Min?"

There was no answer. He could hear her rustling around in her office and chose to venture in without her permission.

She sat somberly at her desk, typing away on her laptop and looking completely un-Mindylike.

"What do you want Danny," her voice was level and she didn't even look up from her screen. Danny scratched his head as he observed her, confused.

"I just, you know, came to see if you were alright."

"Of course I'm alright, why wouldn't I be alright?"

"I dunno, it's just, I thought you would be…out…right now…today," he shuffled awkwardly. He felt like he was trying to avoid stepping on a landmine.

"I have work to do," she replied robotically.

"But it's Valentine's Day," the words tumbled out before he could stop them. Her fingers paused over the keys and a tense silence hung in the air. He felt frozen, like he was 16 again and he'd just been caught by his Ma stealing the keys to her car.

"Oh, you mean Singles Awareness Day," her tone was calm as she said this but he noticed her nostrils flare.

He had a choice now. He could wish her a good night take himself home to the lasagna and bottle of wine waiting in his fridge. Or…

"What happened to your date?" he sighed, collapsing into the chair in front of her desk. She flinched slightly when he said it but pushed her glasses up further on the bridge of her nose and continued typing. He waited a moment before he leaned forward and gently pushed her laptop shut.

"Danny!" she shot him an annoyed look but he didn't lift his hand.

"Min," he said softly. "Come on, what happened?"

She pursed her lips and he could see her inwardly fighting with her emotions.

"He…he said he was looking for someone…different," she said it so quietly he had to strain to hear her.

"What? What do you mean different?" he asked.

"I don't know Danny!" she spat out, her eyes focused on her lap. "Someone younger! Skinnier! With a less demanding job! Maybe blonde hair!"

He felt his mouth dry up as he watched a few stray tears trickle down her cheeks.

"I'm just so tired," she sighed. "I just want someone who wants to be with me. Who wants to give me their whole heart. Every guy I meet seems to have part of his heart elsewhere. Am I not worth the whole thing? What am I doing wrong Danny?" she asked tearfully, finally lifting her eyes to meet his.

"Nothing. He's an idiot and he doesn't deserve you," Danny insisted. He'd never seen her like this. Even when things with Casey ended, she'd been devastated sure, but he could still see the hopefulness in her eyes. The small part of her that still believed "he" was out there. He didn't see that anymore.

"Mindy, the right one's out there. I promise you."

"How do you know?" she shook her head.

"I just do," he insisted.

"But how Danny?" she pressed. He sighed and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

"Because you told me," he paused and locked eyes with her. "And you made me believe it too."

There was a palpable silence in the room. But he could have sworn he saw something spark in her eyes and he felt his heart beat a little bit faster.

A few moments passed and finally she grabbed a Kleenex and blew her nose loudly, shooting him an embarrassed smile. He laughed and pushed the box towards her.

"Come on," he said, heading for his office. "I'll take you home."

A cab ride and few blocks of walking later, they stood on Mindy's stoop in the February snow.

"Thanks for everything Danny. I'm sorry I was such a mess," she laughed half-heartedly, trying to make light of her sadness.

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged.

"No seriously, I know how much you hate this stupid day and I'm sure this is the last thing you felt like doing tonight."

He shot her a lopsided grin. "That's where you're wrong. There's nothing else I would rather be doing tonight."

She gave him a grateful smile and started up the steps.

"Mindy wait," he jogged up the steps after her. "I got you something."

He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. She furrowed her brow and eyed him suspiciously.

"Oh for God's sake, just take it, it's nothing bad!" he scoffed. She smiled at his usual impatience and removed the elastic band.

"Danny, what is this? Oh my god, did you steal this from a patient's file?" she whispered.

"No, Jesus! It's mine," he blurted out. She examined the paper more carefully.

"I don't understand," she stared at him expectantly.

"It's an echo, you know a heart x-ray?"

"I know what an echo is thank you! I have my medical license!" she swatted his arm, irritated.

"Well, it's mine. My heart I mean. And I'm giving it…to you…" he finished lamely.

"But…why?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I wanted to show you that someone would give you their whole heart, because you are definitely worth it. And he'd be lucky to have that opportunity, because you're pretty special and you have more love than anyone I know."

Mindy was taken aback. It really was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her. She felt a sudden warmth spread through her as she gazed at the black and white paper.

"And," he added. "This is the whole thing. I made sure you had the proof in print."

A smile spread across her face and she couldn't stop herself from throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him into a crushing hug. As she breathed him in, she felt his arms encircle her and pull her closer.

"This is amazing Danny," she grinned into his shoulder.

"I just don't want you to ever give up," he whispered, his warm breath dancing across her ear. It sent a shiver through her. He finally released her and she stumbled back slightly, catching herself on the railing. He gave her hand one final squeeze before starting down the steps to hail a cab.

"Hey Danny," she called after him as he climbed in.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. This was…the best Valentine's Day ever," she clutched the paper gift tightly as she leaned against the doorframe. He nodded and shot her one last trademark grin.

"Yeah…me too."

**AN: Well, there it is! I hope you all enjoyed it! This is my first MP fic, but I am a HUGE fan of the show and a huge fan of the Danny/Mindy pairing. I really tried hard to capture them both accurately and hopefully you agree! Let me know what you think! Any reviews would be much appreciated!**


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